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As Smartphone Industry Sputters, the iPhone Expands Its Dominance
(www.nytimes.com)
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Unless an iphone becomes literally the only option, I don't see myself ever getting one. I'm deeply morally opposed to their walled-garden approach, and I won't even get one Samsung's Androids for the same reason. It would be nice for me if there was more people like me, but regardless, as long as there's a freer option, I'll be taking it.
It's too bad Android didn't lean more into it's relative freedom. Instead, almost all Android manufacturers have followed Apple's lead closely. I have to believe there'd be a sizeable market for a flagship Android phone with, say, a removable battery, headphone jack, SD card slot, and an easily unlocked bootloader.
They exist, they just aren’t popular because most people don’t care.
They don't exist. Believe me, since I finally put my old LG V20 out to pasture, I've been waiting. The closest thing is the Fairphone, but it doesn't support all US LTE bands.
Aside from maybe the headphone jack, those are all features that enthusiasts want but average consumers don't care about enough to compromise on size, waterproofing or price.
Smartphones depend so much on economies of scale, and a limited pool of cutting edge components, it would be hard to sustain a niche market just for enthusiasts.
Bootloader a are usually pretty easy to unlock, it's Safetynet that is the biggest problem these days. Though you can generally sandbox it a little bit with a custom ROM. If, however, you try to keep it stock and have it rooted with Magisk it can be a nightmare depending on the manufacturer.
Its like picking between different types of cancer, its either walled garden or a privacy nightmare.
I'm just opposed to their brand ethos. They always complicate things in the name of simplicity.
apple mice have 1 button to click, and that this decision was made (in the 80s) because they thought 2 button mice would confuse the average user.
... and now apple users command + click all the time, like that isn't more complicated.
That's not why I hate apple, but it is why I hate apple. They perpetually put the cart before the horse.
"We stopped including a charger in the box to help the environment"
Actually this means more boxes are being created in total and this is worse for the environment. 🤦♂️
Edit: God you apple stans are annoying af. I guess y'all are just an extension of their obnoxious ethos lol.
Apple Mice have had right click for 14 years, and their trackpads have used two finger click in its place far longer than that. And before that, any two button mouse worked just fine in OS X from 2001 on (earlier if you ran the beta of OS X). So your information is anywhere from two decades to one and a half decades out of date. Well done.
How so? That thought only works if you think they still manufacture the same amount of chargers and package them. Which would be pretty dumb given that they aren’t guaranteed a sell. Also, who doesn’t have a bunch of different chargers already?
You can Google for the myriad of reports on this very topic.
Here's the top result.
https://www.theverge.com/2020/10/16/21519466/apple-iphone-12-chargers-airpods-greenhouse-gas-emissions-e-waste
Lmao, are you forgetting they also changed the cable from standard usb to lightning to USB c to lightning after they stopped including the brick?
Yeah, because everything is transitioning to USB-C and that’s a good thing. They made that switch when they removed USB A ports from their Macs.
They only made the jump to USB-C because they were forced to. They would have loved to stay on their proprietary hardware for as long as possible.
Rumor is they wanted to wait to go portless. In current state Qi chargers work on iPhones but they don’t charge as quickly as their proprietary MagSafe connector which I find ridiculous so I’m glad they had to add a standard port
That doesn't invalidate my point at all.
Apple stans gonna stan.
I agree with you and the OP of this thread. I don't want to support a company with a walled garden approach and they over complicate things to be unique
What phone did you end up choosing?
I went with the Motorola G Stylus 5g. It's not perfect, but it does have an SD slot, a headphone jack, FM radio, an easily unlocked bootloader, and a built-in stylus I didn't expect to care about but which I have grown weirdly dependent on. I just wish it had a removable battery.
It's what I have as well and I quite like it.
It's a very good phone overall in my opinion.
How are you liking it? That's at the top of my short list for my next phone? Any major flaws or issues?
Zero issues for me so far, except the standard complaint about modern phones; it's too darn big.
I really like the size but I'm 6'2" and about 260 pounds so I'm a pretty big guy I guess.
Personally, I wouldn't want to go back to a smaller one again though.
I can't think of any particular complaints I have with mine.
Works well...
Okay, I take that back... I wish battery life was a little bit better ...
But, that said, I often spend entirely too much time goofing off on my phone lately and that's certainly not helping.
Thanks. I'm the only one I know who uses moto phones so it's nice to hear opinions from people who actually own them.